Back pain treatment in Clear Lake, Iowa
If you are living with chronic back pain, chiropractic care in Clear Lake, Iowa might be a good treatment option. Almost everyone experiences back pain in their lifetime, ranging from slightly irritating to completely crippling. Whatever the degree of pain you are experiencing and whether it is a one-time occurrence or has become chronic, you would probably rather live without it. In extreme cases, it can be difficult to go on living with such pain. We can help you understand what causes lower back pain and how chiropractic treatment can help you get lasting relief so that you can enjoy doing your favorite activities with those you love.
Back pain in Clear Lake, Iowa
Our backs are made of many tendons, ligaments, discs, muscles, and bones. A Gonstead chiropractor understands these body parts and how to find and treat pain associated with them. Below, we discuss common back issues and how chiropractic can help.
Disc Bulges & Herniations
Does this sound familiar? You wake up in the morning and cannot get to the kitchen for breakfast without wincing from lower back pain. By lunch time, you feel a bit better, right? How does that happen? Discs provide cushion between each vertebra in the spine. Think of each disc as a jelly donut. Disc bulges and herniations are conditions that happen when the outer edges of the discs (the donut part) are damaged. Sometimes the jelly center bulges or is pushed out. Messy for a donut, painful for a disc!
This is a common issue, and many people who have this condition don’t even notice it. For people who experience pain with this condition, the intensity of it depends on the type and position of the herniation. If a damaged disc is irritating a nearby nerve, shooting or stabbing pain along with weakness in the legs can be severe, especially in the morning. Overnight, an injured disc might swell, putting pressure on a nerve. During the day, that swelling goes down and your back tends to feel better, but the underlying issue is still there.
O’Hara Chiropractic can identify and treat the issue to avoid any more damage. We will assess your back completely to understand the extent of the issue, determine appropriate treatment to prevent the herniation from getting worse, and provide relief from the associated pain.
Subluxations
Subluxation is a medical term that describes a misalignment in the vertebral column. It can be caused by physical stress, trauma, toxins, etc. Subluxations can be quite painful and disrupt normal movement. Subluxations can often be overlooked contributors to back pain. Chiropractors are trained to find and correct this issue using non invasive adjustment techniques.
Muscular sprains and tendon or ligament strains
Strains and sprains typically occur when we do tasks and activities our bodies are not used to doing or when we are involved in an accident. Lifting while twisting or stretching past our limits are common causes of strains and sprains of the back. These injuries can be extremely painful and are often accompanied by swelling and bruising of the surrounding area. Sometimes, strains and sprains in the back involve alignment changes of the spine and typically respond well to chiropractic care.
Stress and back pain
Life these days has different stressors that it used to and chronic stress can wreak havoc on the body. Stress can eventually lead to hypertension and chronic back pain. When stress hormones are released, they can cause tension and muscle spasms that are painful. Tension, called trigger points, can build up, feel extremely painful, and require a Gonstead chiropractor’s attention to resolve. At O’Hara Chiropractic, we have the knowledge and tools to relieve stress from trigger points and deal with underlying nervous system issues that could be keeping your body susceptible to patterns of stress and pain.